“We Are Not A Building Or Organization, We Are A People, Clothed In The Righteousness of God through Christ Jesus”
(Sermon by Rex Herndon, July 2026)
Acts 1:8
Introduction:
In 1985 a group of well known musical artists and performers came together in a charity event to raise funds for famine relief in Africa. Together they recorded the song, “We are the World” celebrating the unity of mankind while seeking to alleviate human need.
Their effort was most successful. The recording sold more than twenty million copies raising 63 million dollars for hunger relief.
Thinking of their theme, “We are the World,” I thought how wonderful it would be if Christians everywhere, speaking with one confident voice would declare, “We are the Church!” We are not a building or organization, we are a people whom God has called to preach the gospel, build the Kingdom and alleviate spiritual hunger in the world.
It is commonly understood the Church has, from its inception, been the object of derision and opposition by the unbelieving world. The basis for their attitude and schemes to weaken or destroy the Church is, it’s mission and message rebukes the sin that encompasses the world.
Unfortunately, the jaundiced eye with which the unbelieving world views the Church has caused some to forget who we are and the majesty of the One we serve.
This message is to encourage you to lift your banner high and “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.” We have nothing for which we should be ashamed.
In the Greek, the Church is defined as, the ‘ekklesia,’ ‘those who are called out.’ Those who have been ordained or set apart by God for service. Our calling, unlike the calling of man, is a “High and Holy calling,” it is far above any designation man may place upon us. We are the ‘ekklesia.’ We are the called and commissioned by God!
Another Greek term I find interesting is, “Kyriakos’ (ker-re-oc-os), a term describing things that, ‘belong to the Lord,” or that which is “special to the Lord.” It is used in describing
“The Lord’s Day,” or “The Lord’s Table,” The Lord’s Supper. It is also descriptive of the Church. We are “The Lord’s Church.” We belong to the Lord, and we are, “Kyriakos,” very special to the Lord.” We have been redeemed and are the object of His Love, the subject of His blessing and the recipient of power.
I want to talk to my fellow believers and to Pastors, who may be a part of a congregation that has only a few dozen members. You are not alone. Thousands of Churches are in that category.
Much of our ministry has been in small Churches, or Churches with a membership of 75 or less. I find, sometimes, we who are a part of those congregations feel we are not all that important compared to the mega Churches we often hear about. We get little or no notoriety. Pastors who faithfully shepherd those ‘small’ congregations may feel they are not important as those who lead larger congregations.
May I remind you of the words of Smith Wigglesworth, the ‘Apostle of Faith,’
who was criticized by a woman for praying for people with what she deemed were small things. Hearing her complaint, he said, “Tell me madam what is small and great with God?”
So, you who make up that small Church are just as important and special as anyone else. Remember, while Jesus ministered to 5,000, He also ministered to one sinful woman at the well; one Zacchaeus; one Nicodemus; a small group of lepers, and to a grief stricken widow. It is not the size of the congregation that makes us special to God. It is the size of our heart! So lift up your countenance, “You are ‘kyriakos,” you are special to the Lord!”
Speaking of those who are the Church of Jesus Christ, Peter makes no distinction between ethnic, social or numbers of believers. He says, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of him who hath brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (2 Peter 2:9)
In his letter to Timothy, Paul reminds us, we are special in the sight of God. He says, “God hath saved us and called us with a high and holy calling, not according to our works but according to his purpose and Grace.” He goes on to say our calling was “Given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” (2 Timothy 1:19)
The Church, of which we are a part, evolved from the Mind of God before the foundations of the world.
This is a note to those who head up important organizations in our world today. Those groups find their beginning in recent history. The Church is not an organization but a living organism chosen and founded before the foundations of the world. That’s who we are! We are the Church!
Little wonder the songwriter described us as “A Glorious Church…Thronging up the steeps of light—clad in glorious shining garments, blood washed garments pure and white.”
(A Glorious Church: Ralph Hudson: pub. domain)
Considering who we are and our significance in the eternal Plan of God, we should never feel inferior or ashamed. “We are the Church,” we bear the Name of the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
I encourage believers to turn away from the ridicule of unbelievers and those who seek to devalue the importance of the Church. Give no credence to voices raised in ridicule as they seek to denigrate our mission and message. The old proverb reminds us, “The dogs bark but the caravan moves on.” The noise and confusion generated by the enemies of the Church will never stop its progress or silence its message. The caravan, (the Church) moves on.
The stature of the Church in the sight of God is clearly evident, in that, we have been commissioned by God to execute His Will and fulfill His Plan upon the earth. Those of us who make up the church are the exclusive possessors and purveyors of the Gospel. God has ordained that we, you and I, should be the Temple or dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Beyond that, He has declared the Church to be the Body of Christ upon the earth. We are not just the Church, we are the Bride of Christ, which Jesus Christ will claim upon His return. There is absolutely no reason we should think of the Church of Jesus Christ as a meaningless, emaciated and dying body.
I would argue there is no body on this earth bearing the image, credentials and influence of the Church. No calling known to man is higher than the “High and Holy Calling ,” to which Paul referred in his letter to Timothy.
Along my journey in life, I remember reading of two warring tribes who were sent by their respective Kings into battle.
Fighting with spears and arrows, one tribe was eventually victorious over the other, and, as the battle ended, the victorious tribe took the defeated warriors that included the son of the defeated King back to their village, where they would be paraded in shame before the victorious King and the village elders.
As they passed, the King was angered when he noticed one man refused to bow in shame as he passed. “Why is that man not bowing as the others in humiliation,” asked the King?” “Does he not understand he has been defeated?” One of the captains of his warring tribe told the King, “that young man is the son of the defeated tribal king. He walks upright with head held high, because he cannot forget, he is the son of the King. He will never bow in shame.”
The actions of the King’s son reminds us we who are followers of Christ. We should never be ashamed of who we are or Whom we serve.
With Paul, we must stand tall saying, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation.” (Romans 1:16)
What is remarkable about the Church of Jesus Christ is it’s strength and resilience. In spite of attacks from every quarter, it has, for two thousand years, remained vibrantly alive! The assurance of our Lord rings in clarion tones from Caesarea Phillippi: “The gates of hell shall not prevail!”
(1) The Church will prevail against “the gates of hell” because: IT’S ONE FOUNDATION IS CHRIST THE LORD.
Speaking to Peter, Jesus says, “Upon this rock I will build my Church. No matter how hard the winds of adversity blow, how intense the flames of persecution burn or how loud the voices of unbelief are raised, the Church will stand! The indestructibility of the Church frustrates hell and ignites anger and a sense of futility in unbelievers.
More than a hundred years ago, Samuel J. Stone wrote: “The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord; she is His new creation by water and the Word.” (The Church’s One Foundation: public domain)
In (Matthew 21:42), Jesus quotes the Psalmist David relating to the foundation of the Church. He said, “The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner.” He went on to say, “This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118: 22-23)
It is rightly said, the integrity or strength of any structure is dependent on its foundation. A strong foundation keeps the building standing when everything that can be shaken is shaken.
Speaking of the strength and stability of the Church, Poet T.S. Elliot wrote, “The true Church can never fail, for it is based upon the Rock.”
We are strong and indestructible! False prophets have sought to undermine the teaching of the Church; dictators and godless regimes have driven it underground; intellectuals and philosophers have ridiculed its message; courts of law have ruled against it; liberal religious thinkers have sought to weaken its doctrines, but the Church remains a viable force in the world, because her Foundation is God manifest in flesh! If Hell could not hold Him in the tomb, it is powerless to destroy His Church!!
Let the message go forth! The Church will continue to be victorious, because it bears the Name of One Who has authority over demons. One Who has the power to save, heal and deliver! Looking to Jesus, we must agree with David, “It’s the Lord’s work, and it’s marvelous in our eyes!”
(2) Secondly, the Church has remained invincible because its MESSAGE IS RELEVANT. It is a message of light and life; of help and hope; of victory and blessing. It is the message of Jesus Christ! It doesn’t bring men and women into bondage, it sets us free.
From Pentecost until today, the Church has sought to follow the words of Christ, Who was its founder. He said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me.” (John 12:32)
For two thousand years, we have been lifting up Jesus. We have preached the message of the cross in which the broken, sin-laden and destitute have found refuge and forgiveness. The hopeless have found hope; the weak have found strength; those in bondage have been set free!
Jesus Christ has been the subject of our preaching, the object of our praise; the One Whom we magnify in our singing; the One to Whom we call in prayer. It is Jesus! Only Jesus!
The message of the Church is the message of re-creation. Paul tells us, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are new.”
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
Our distinctive and relevant message is of a Savior. It is a message that touches the heart of a man when he is troubled in mind or sick in body; it is a message that uplifts and restores; a message that gives hope beyond the grave.
The Message of the Church is unique and relevant, because it presents a living Christ, who is available to man and able to meet his needs. A living Christ, who said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
It was after visiting a mission in the slums of New York where she ministered to some of the City’s most desperate, that Fanny Crosby was moved upon by God to write: “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave; weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen; Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.” (Rescue The Perishing)
The distinctive message that “Jesus is mighty to save” has resonated with man through the centuries. It has been embraced by countless millions, because it reveals a living Christ! Our message makes us invincible!
(3) Finally, the Church is invincible because we are EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Speaking to His disciples before returning to the Father, Jesus said, “But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
He is telling these early believers they will have unlimited power and unmatched authority. The only obstacle to their success is unbelief. What was true of those early Pentecostals is true of us. The only obstacle to our success is the lack of faith!
It is clear from history, the Church of Jesus Christ has withstood the gates of hell and the forces of darkness, because the power we possess is far greater than the forces of any enemy.
From the 1965 Broadway Musical, “Man From La Mancha,” the world was introduced to the stirring song, “The Impossible Dream.”
I am well aware it was not written or performed with the Church in mind, but I thought how some lines from Richard Kiley’s song remind us of the mission of the Church.
“To fight the unbeatable foe; to bear with unbearable sorrow; to run where the brave dare not go. To fight for the right without question or pause, willing to march into hell for that heavenly cause.” To do that, we must be empowered with the Holy Spirit.
The Bible tells us in (Isaiah 59:19) “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”
When the one hundred twenty came from the Upper Room after having been filled with the Holy Ghost, they were a newly empowered crowd!
Peter was no longer just a fisherman. He was a powerful preacher! His fellow believers were no longer a rag-tag group without influence. They were now a power to be reckoned with!
Pentecost was the dawning of a new day for the Church of Jesus Christ! It would have an anointing and power such as had never been experienced before.
In (Acts 4:31), Luke describes the impact of the Holy Spirit upon them. “And when they prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness.”
In (Acts 5:12), we are told, “And by the hands of the Apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people.”
These men of God preached the word with a new authority and power, and at their hands, signs and wonders were taking place among the people.
The forces of hell have no answer for the Power of the Holy Ghost! The enemies of Christ and His Church were helpless to stem the tide of the gospel message and God’s demonstrated power.
The Church has been abused, tormented, opposed and battered, but it stands invincible, because, it is built on the solid FOUNDATION of Jesus Christ. It’s MESSAGE IS RELEVANT, and it is EMPOWERED by the Holy Ghost.
CLOSING:
You and I are now the Church. Our faith is founded upon the solid rock! We are now assigned the task of preaching the distinctive and relevant message, Jesus Saves! We are now the custodians of the message, He is the Savior; the baptizer, deliverer and healer. He is our hope of resurrection; our shepherd and friend.
It is we who must be empowered by the Holy Ghost! It is we who must speak with authority and demonstrate power. It is we, who must be anointed! It is we, who must “Call those things which be not as though they were.”
(Romans 4:17)
It is we, who “Shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” (Mark 16:18). It is we, who must take authority over demons in the Name of Jesus. It is we, who will speak to the mountain that stands in our way.
The power and authority of the Holy Ghost was given at Pentecost, and it remains a part of our Spiritual heritage. We are “The Church Invincible!”
The Shepherd's Staff 